Magnetic Door Closure for Pocket Door : 5 Steps

We have a new house in the works. My suite is All Victorian. So I had to get an authentic Victorian pocket door for my Powder Room. I purchased it over a year ago and it has been in storage. I recently realized that as I was trimming out the pocket door for said room, that the door I purchased not only didn't have the key(I knew that when I bought it at salvage) but didn't come with the corresponding receptacle for it that would normally fit into the door jamb.

Crap.

So not only does it not have the key, but even if I had the key... didn't matter.

So I had to find a solution.

"You are my magnet, and I am your steel.."

"Ooooh, ooh ooh oooooh...."

: )

Read on to see how I utilized the power of magnets to solve my dilemma.

Step 1: Locking Mechanism for Pocket Door

1. This is the locking mechanism for the pocket door that I removed. The face plate was slightly bent(not a big deal), and opening it up revealed to me that one of the tension clips was broken. Krikey! And as mentioned before, I had no key or jamb receptacle, so I wanted a basic solution outside of all that.

2. The door closes and stays put(after leveling) but I would like some self-closing system. It IS a bathroom after all... : ). Though it is my private suite which no one but special guests will use...and I will put a latch hook lock on the inside, the Smart Cat will try(and succeed) to get in when no one is around. And I don't want that.

3. With not much effort, the door opens too easily

Step 2: Four Strong Stacked Magnets to the Rescue

I experimented prior that 3 magnets wasn't enough "pull", but four would work nicely

1. I placed the stack of four to the steel plate.

2. I rolled tape onto stack of magnets.

3. Closed door against jamb.(3x until it stuck)

4. Now I have my hole location.

Step 3: Drill Hole for Magnets

My goal was to drill a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the magnets so I could just smash them into the hole without any glue to hold them.

1. I started with a smaller drill bit.

2. I then used a bit just a tad smaller than the width of the magnets. It wasn't the neatest of holes(damn) but not terrible, for sure. I'll reform the fluting with wood filler, stain, and it'll look great.

3. I held a paint stirrer over the magnets as I hammered them in. The hammer is magnetic, you know....